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I have a QT gas station nearby selling non-ethanol regular gas for 50 cents more per gallon over regular, 5 cents per gallon over premium (everyone else seems to sell only a 10% ethanol blend around me, east of Atlanta).
So I wondered if there would be a noticeable change in mileage between ethanol & non-ethanol that would support using one over the other, theoretically there should be a difference since ethanol has less power stored in it than gasoline thereby giving a greater mpg result. Would it be enough to warrant the cost increase?
Caveat: engine is newly rebuilt with an IPD turbo cam and some minor head & turbo porting so I suspect my numbers will indicate less mpg than stock. Memory serves I usually got in the low-to-mid 20's combined before the rebuild mods.
So I started tracking my mileage over a few tankfuls and this is what I found…
Regular ethanol blend gives me 19 mpg combined
Regular non-ethanol gives me 18 mpg combined, hmm
Premium ethanol blend gives me 20+ mpg, hmmmmm
The station does not offer premium non-ethanol
Results do not seem to support my initial thesis
Other factors must be at work, what comes to mind immediately is the knock sensor retarding ignition enough to affect things when on regular
So, according to my results, the non-ethanol product does not warrant the 50 cent price increase with respect to expected mpg increase, I am actually getting less mpg's on it.
Filling up with premium costs me an extra $5 per tankful for an extra mpg, also not warranted for a 1 mpg increase, close to being a wash
Guess it is time to try mid-grade to see those results
Of course, this is all based on non-controlled driving conditions so the differences might be the result of more or less highway driving for a particular tankful
No revelations at this stage…
I obviously have too much time on my hands now that I am retired...
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